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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wave · net · march · pound · field · root · spring · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. field — a subject
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. root — the cause
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. march — music
  9. spring — of water
  10. net — in sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. net — after costs
  15. march — the month
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. field — for sport
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. net — for catching
  20. march — the month
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. spring — the season
  24. pound — a weight

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com